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Redsoxfan

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RoyalCelt

What is your secret lads? Honestly what is being done differently in the last 5 years that you didn't do previously?

Lemlin

RoyalCelt wrote: »

What is your secret lads? Honestly what is being done differently in the last 5 years that you didn't do previously?

A very good article about some of the tactics employed:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2013/0418/ireland/putting-life-back-into-cavan-football-228687.html

There was a time when Cavan’s footballers could justifiably walk tall alongside Kerry’s as the games leaders. The days when John Joe O’Reilly, John Wilson and Phil ‘The Gunner’ Brady were household names.

But those times have long passed. A senior Ulster title in 1997 represents their only silverware at that level in 43 years. So for a county with as many Anglo Celt Cups as Armagh, Tyrone and Down put together, the barren spell has been tough.

With Ulster’s rise, Cavan fell further down the pecking order.

"We were bottom of pile in Ulster," said county chairman Tom O’Reilly.

A radical approach was called for; a practical one was applied. When O’Reilly was appointed in 2010 he sat down with current senior manager Terry Hyland and looked at the problems within Cavan football.

Their results up to minor looked respectable and just needed tweaking. At senior and U21 level it was a different story. Tradition dictated the seniors and U21s train together but the fall off in players aged between 18 and 21 was staggering. By the time a good minor team’s year to play U21 had arrived, the players were no longer around or interested. So they extended their panels, sometimes up to 40 players.

"There had always been fights between the senior and U21 manager, which goes on everywhere. So I decided there would be no crossover when U21s are playing," O’Reilly said.

"Now we were in a situation this year where the last two league matches had to be played without our U21s and it had a bearing on our promotion prospects. But we stuck with it because we believed in it.

"Initially we found it didn’t cost a fortune and in the second year we saw the players coming through because we had 20 players ready to go straight away."

By isolating their players, they were also able to target them based on age. The formula was repeated further down the line with retention as their motto. They entered the Leinster JFC to give players who weren’t up to U21 level yet, but had potential, games. In 2010 and 2011, they lost the finals. In 2012 they claimed a first Leinster title and were beaten by Kerry in the semi-final. Those players filtered into the U21 set up this year and a seamless progression was crowned with a third Ulster U21 in as many years.

In beating a Paddy McBrearty-inspired Donegal in the final, they found their emphasis on squad development outweighed individual talent. While Donegal had stars, they had 20 players they could rely on.

"Organising something well... you can see the benefit of it in a year or two," said Tom. "[It cost] €60-70,000 a year outside the norm of school coaching. But you see the strength in it when you it comes to sit down and pick an U21 panel. We know 20 straight away. In club football for the first time you can pick a county player on the field in the last 20 minutes. you could never do that before.

"Keeping lads interested in wearing the county jersey, we want that. Our mindset has changed. Three or four years ago lads were saying college football was more important than senior. The next step is to galvanise these lads into a senior set-up. There is a four-year plan in place by Terry Hyland and his selectors and we have to keep expectations at a level they are at. It will take a while. They’re a very proud people in Cavan and when they see the county slipping down in Ulster they did the hard work to get there. But our biggest enemy in Cavan was our attitude. There can be no more excitement about a good team coming through. We are where we are and will take six years to make an impact at senior level. People needed to realise this. They will buy into it."

Last year they brought in the National Athlete Development Academy (NADA) to show the U21s what was required to make it as a senior players ("Our senior team’s average age is 22 so they needed that awareness"). This year that role is occupied internally.

Two-time senior All-Ireland winner Peter Donnelly together with Finbar O’Reilly, Andy McGovern and former Fermanagh footballer Sean Doherty had completed strength and conditioning courses. Donnelly was appointed to a full-time role for the senior, U21, minor and development squads. But his main role is to coach the coaches.

Together with games development officer and former All Star Dermot McCabe they are creating a new template for the next Cavan production line. After the past 40 years, Tom knows the county can’t rest on laurels. "We are revamping all underage panels now and it’s in the early stages of that," he said.

"When [Dermot] took over the minor team [Ulster champions in 2011] we went for a different profile of players. We used to look for the skilful players but now we’re looking for taller and stronger players. It’s the same at U21 level. They developed lads whose skills were not as good.

"This Sunday against Cork you will have a team of 20 fellas but no stars. Before lads felt it was good enough to just wear the jersey. These U21s are different. It’s lovely to be associated with them."

Personally, I feel utilising the extended panels has been a huge asset. We're working off a panel of 45 at all levels.

36 different players used in six matches in the league speaks for itself IMO.

Syferus

The extended panel is a help but isoating U21 players has a negible effect on results - we're proof of that.

I wish we did do it, but only for injury prevention and to give lads who give so much to the county a little less to be worrying about.

Tom Joad

Fantastic result last night and to appear in five finals in a row in an incredible achievement considering where Cavan football was coming from.

My own personal view on what's changed is the attitude of the players and the set-up. For too long in Cavan football the be all and end all was getting a county jersey and that would do. That attitude has changed completely as has the inferiority complex that Cavan teams used to have in the past. That team last night had a swagger and a belief about them that's a joy to see - they never panic and invariably do the right thing at the right time. Very few superstars on the team either.

Tom Joad

Syferus wrote: »

The extended panel is a help but isoating U21 players has a negible effect on results - we're proof of that.

I wish we did do it, but only for injury prevention and to give lads who give so much to the county a little less to be worrying about.

Isolating the U21 players is probably a better long term strategy as it seems to stop the huge drop off of players between that age group and senior. Every county is different but an issue in Cavan was that some of the more senior players had very poor attitudes and were poor trainers and discipline was a problem. Isolating young lads from that had a very positive effect in Cavan.

willabur

I was at the game last night, first game since the Longford and Offaly games in the Hastings Cup earlier on this year. First of all we were the better team on what was a god awful night. Our defence in particular was impressive after playing themselves into the game after a dodgy enough start. There were a couple of worrying points though

1: We are a team of half backs and corner backs. Work rate is phenomenal in the team, tackling, turning over the ball and looking for the man on the shoulder coming on to make the yards. The problem with such a well drilled team is that they do not play off the cuff when required. It was infuriating to see players lack the confidence to take on scores. Its a very conservative approach which has worked in ulster up until now but has left us wanting when we come up against the other provincial winners. Time and again, guys with forward numbers on their backs passed up shooting opportunities from pretty straight forward positions in the field

2: We saw the weak side of Michael Argue last night. I understand he has been one of the outstanding performers on the team to date and it was clear from the outset that he was targeted by the Monaghan players and he didn't seem to fancy it at all. He took a few tumbles at times and had a whinge at the linesman when he would have been better served using his clear physical advantage to dominate the opponent. The tactic employed against him is one driven purely out of fear of his ability, if I was his manager I would be getting into his head telling him this, fill the lad with belief to use his own facilities to win the duel rather than look for a hand from someone else. He is a young lad yet, but last night he had some opportunities to really make his mark on the game and passed them up. Also he needs to work on his defensive work, far too often he takes the lazy option of diving in which is easily sidestepped time and again creating a man over

3: Kickouts. The goalie possesses a lovely kick, he can hit it long and short but several times last night when hitting it long he took put the ball in some brainless parts of the pitch, Monaghan had dropped a man back so we had the spare man yet more often than not he put the ball in the area where there was an even match up rather than an uneven match up in our own favour.

4: Freekicks. We nearly kicked the game away last night, bar a jammy goal we could easily have lost the game given how much monaghan kicked wide early on. Last nights game was played in deplorable conditions and I think the sympathies of everyone in the crowd went out to the lads on the pitch putting in the hard yards. But given that the conditions were shocking it was worrying that the managers didn't take the decision to have the frees taken from the hand last night. I'm sure the lad boucher can slot them over all day on even a semi dry surface but last night was not the night to be taking frees off the ground. It was foolhardy and it struck me as sticking to a game plan which was too rigid to amen itself to the conditions, horses for courses etc. Last night it was clear from the first kick that planting your standing foot was next to impossible, as a free taker myself this is even more crucial than the strike itself because it dictates how clean a strike you can get on the ball. kicking from the hand you are not planting your foot with the same force so on a soft surface the chances of slipping are lessened. Correct me if I am wrong but we missed 6 free kicks from inside 30 metres last night. Good enough for monaghan but that won't wash later on in the competition


Thats what springs to mind, its the worrying points. There are alot of things to be positive about and making 5 finals in a row is serious achievement , lets hope this set of lads can now kick on, learn and grow.

Crash Bang Wall

RoyalCelt wrote: »

What is your secret lads? Honestly what is being done differently in the last 5 years that you didn't do previously?

A lot!! When Flanagan & Mackey were under 21, I think it was their last year, they were both injured playing in League games in the week before U-21 games, and missed first round defeats. Cullivan was also injured so that was the spine of the team gone.
(They were the standout players, from a minor team 3 years previously, that brought Down to et in a replay. This was the Marty Clarke inspired team that won an AI.) Under 21 football was deemed as something to get squeezed, and not really given the time of day

At present, the Under 21s are excused from League matches prior to Under 21 matches, hence more players are getting game time. Also we are entering the Leinster Junior Championship to give panel members game time, so that if they are called upon come Championship time, they will have played some level of competitive football

Tom Joad

Crash Bang Wall wrote: »

A lot!! When Flanagan & Mackey were under 21, I think it was their last year, they were both injured playing in League games in the week before U-21 games, and missed first round defeats. Cullivan was also injured so that was the spine of the team gone.
(They were the standout players, from a minor team 3 years previously, that brought Down to et in a replay. This was the Marty Clarke inspired team that won an AI.) Under 21 football was deemed as something to get squeezed, and not really given the time of day

Good post and re the highlighted bit- Cavan supporters were brought up on this kind off stuff and it became part of the pysche and that has changed massively over the last 5 years - being nearly men is not enough any more.

We always had outstanding minor teams that were unlucky or met the best minor team ever on the day. Same with the senior, shure didn't we take Donegal to a replay in '92!! Martin McHugh always used to comment on this game when he took over as manager - Cavan were happy to give a good account and defeat was expected and so long as we didn't take a hammering it was grand. This was part of the wearing the jersey was good enough mentality - and shure if it helped you get a few free pints in the Imperial or your hole in the Carrick Springs then even better.

We are a million miles away from them dark days now and its great to see. We have an Ulster final and a trip to Croke Park in the next few weeks and it's only April. :D

The future is blue!!

Lemlin

Tom Joad wrote: »

Isolating the U21 players is probably a better long term strategy as it seems to stop the huge drop off of players between that age group and senior. Every county is different but an issue in Cavan was that some of the more senior players had very poor attitudes and were poor trainers and discipline was a problem. Isolating young lads from that had a very positive effect in Cavan.

That was a huge issue also. Cavan were flying through managers and each that left had complained about the attitude of the players. In fairness, everyone in the county could see it. I'll never forget the draw with Antrim in 2004 and seeing ten or eleven of the team in a nightclub that night when they had a replay a week or two later.

Then, as Tom Reilly says above in the article, you had lads like Ronan Flanagan, Johnston and Lyng, playing with a professional setup at their college like DCU and arriving back to Cavan training where things were comical.

For too long in the past, the supposed "stars" of the team were allowed do what they wanted and a blind eye was turned. Terry and Val Andrews ended that. Even in 2010, Eugene Keating, who would have been one of the best players in the starting 15, was put off the U21 panel because he wasn't applying himself.

Then we had Val putting the other lads off the senior panel. Just look at the dividends it has paid though. Some people are still amazed when I tell them Cian Mackey made his championship debut in 2005. Alot think he has just arrived on the scene. He was put off the panel and has come back with all guns blazing.

Syferus wrote: »

The extended panel is a help but isoating U21 players has a negible effect on results - we're proof of that.

I wish we did do it, but only for injury prevention and to give lads who give so much to the county a little less to be worrying about.

I'd have to disagree about saying that isloating the U21s has a neligible effect on results. Last year, Killian Clarke, Jason McLoughlin, Fergal Flanagan and Jack Brady were all established starters in the league. Conor Gilsenan also probably would have started as he is now the established goalkeeper. All five were lost from the senior panel for the last 4 matches of the league where Cavan performed poorly - drew with Sligo, lost to Fermanagh, beat Wicklow, lost to Roscommon. This was not in tandem with results where those players had played in the first three games - beat Monaghan and Meath. We were actually the only team to beat both promoted sides and we did that with our U21s. We also beat the likes of Armagh and Derry last year, again with our U21s.

In the Fermanagh game, particularly, our panel was stretched. Keating was still injured and a number of other players like Mark McKeever were unavailable for other reasons. Our bench was very weak that night and I firmly believe it cost us the game and ultimately promotion.

willabur

I think they took a look at the broader picture, short term loss vs long term gain. Maybe another year in Division 3 is what the team needed, they are winning more and more matches which can only be a good thing. Now its highly probable that this team would have held its own in Division one but in 5 years time looking back it might not be a bad thing that they got the extra year at that level.

With regards to weakening the seniors by isolating u21s, its true that if you deprive any team of players that you will weaken it. But given the success we have had at u21 level we are virtually stockpiling senior county standard footballers. We have embraced a way of playing football that is carried through from u16 level right through to senior so the conveyor belt should keep on rolling for the next couple of years at least. The fact that it has been going so long means that the effect of isolating the u21s should not be seen as critical as it has been before. I would strongly favour a strong u21 team with a mid table division 2 team which would allow alot more players game time (and their interest would be more inclined to be retained) rather than focus on a narrow group of senior players regardless of age and risk marginalising potential later developers while possibly burning out the younger prospects

Tom Joad

Lemlin wrote: »

That was a huge issue also. Cavan were flying through managers and each that left had complained about the attitude of the players. In fairness, everyone in the county could see it. I'll never forget the draw with Antrim in 2004 and seeing ten or eleven of the team in a nightclub that night when they had a replay a week or two later.

So in true Cavan style we gave the managers job to a nightclub owner but then again at least he knew where the players were drinking after hours :D. They were the darkest days off Cavan football tbh.

Tom Joad

willabur wrote: »

I would strongly favour a strong u21 team with a mid table division 2 team which would allow alot more players game time (and their interest would be more inclined to be retained) rather than focus on a narrow group of senior players regardless of age and risk marginalising potential later developers while possibly burning out the younger prospects

Would agree completely with this and I genuinely believe that if we keep developing under 21s the way we are, the senior team could be challenging for an All-Ireland in the next 3-4 years.

Tom Joad

Ulster Final confirmed for Wednesday 9th April in Athletic Grounds, Armagh. I presume it's a 8pm start.

Hill St Blue

Tom Joad wrote: »

Ulster Final confirmed for Wednesday 9th April in Athletic Grounds, Armagh. I presume it's a 8pm start.

Yep...8 bells.

petitegall

Donegal are a one man team. Keep McBrearty quiet and we have them.

tayto lover

petitegall wrote: »

Donegal are a one man team. Keep McBrearty quiet and we have them.

I hope none of your team or management are reading that.
You don't get to a final with a one man team.
Donegal have many young players with senior team experience during the league.
They will be no push-overs at all and deserve to be there.
Cavan will have to be at their best to beat them and that's the way you should all be thinking.
Hope Cavan get another title and maybe improve on last year.

Redsoxfan

petitegall wrote: »

Donegal are a one man team. Keep McBrearty quiet and we have them.

We were a one man team in 2010 as well

Lemlin

tayto lover wrote: »

I hope none of your team or management are reading that.
You don't get to a final with a one man team.
Donegal have many young players with senior team experience during the league.
They will be no push-overs at all and deserve to be there.
Cavan will have to be at their best to beat them and that's the way you should all be thinking.
Hope Cavan get another title and maybe improve on last year.

If they do read it, they'll be disregarding it. McBrearty played last year in the final and Jason McLoughlin did a superb job on him. Donegal still gave us a great game.

I hear he's starting on the 40 and our half back line is probably our strongest area on the pitch.

People forget that Cavan have established senior players like Dara McVitty and Killian Clarke also in our ranks. Clarke is in his third season of senior football this year and won an Ulster All Star at corner back last year. If there are problems with McBrearty, I can see him picking him up.

This Cavan team will only be too aware of the dangers of Donegal and will take nothing for granted.

Syferus

petitegall wrote: »

Donegal are a one man team. Keep McBrearty quiet and we have them.

Ryan McHugh doesn't exist, eh? Jigger Jr. is a class act and is getting senior time too, was only on the bench for the semi because of an injury.

Donegal have a serious crop of forwards. They don't have the balance Cavan have but to think they're a one-man team is extremely poor judgement.

Cavan to win by three.

Gallant_JJ

I think Clarke is the man for McBrearty. Clarke really is an exceptional footballer, if he had been a forward people would be raving about him in the same manner as McBrearty, Kilkenny etc. It would be a fascinating battle.

Lemlin

McBrearty nearly worked against Donegal last year. Such is the expectation surrounding him, any time the ball went in and McLoughlin won it, there was a huge roar from the Cavan support.

That can play on a team as well. Seeing that things aren't going as expected for a marquee player.

Cavan will more than likely be missing Conor Madden and Joe Dillon from our forward line. Those are two big losses.

In saying that, I was speaking to a friend who follows Cavan religiously and he reckons the last 3 U21 teams were good but this crop are a better bunch.

celt262

I would say that this is the weakest team off them all but that's probably because the forwards are not doing enough the defence is pretty mean but half back line not offering enough going foward apart from Monagh

Lemlin

celt262 wrote: »

I would say that this is the weakest team off them all but that's probably because the forwards are not doing enough the defence is pretty mean but half back line not offering enough going foward apart from Monagh

I think that is tactics more than ability re the half back line. Gerry Smith has plenty of attacking potential and can take a score well. He scored two points in the Ulster final last year iirc.

Lemlin

A very changed team:

@CavanCoBoardGaa: Team

AO'Mara.
J Hayes.
R Dunne,
J.McLoughlin,
Tinnelly,
Clarke,
DOReilly.
TCorr.
DGivney.
CConroy.
NMcDermott.
NMurray.
MLyng.
EKeating.
DHyland.
v Limerick NFL #cavan

Lemlin

Cavan win 18 points to 14. According to Northern Sound, good performances from Niall Murray, Mickey Lyng and Philip Tinnelly in terms of the players who haven't featured regularly. Great to see Jack Brady return from injury and get a run too.

7 from 7. 100% record. Only 1 goal conceded. 11 games played competitively now between the McKenna Cup and League and only one (Tyrone) loss.

I'm unsure re the number of players that has featured in this league campaign but it was at 34 or 35 after the Longford game so must be 40 or so now.

benjy1000

1. A O'Mara.
2. J Hayes.
3. R Dunne,
4. J McLoughlin,
5. P Tinnelly,
6. A Clarke,
7. D O'Reilly.
8. T Corr.
9. D Givney.
10. C Conroy.
11. N McDermott.
12. N Murray.
13. M Lyng.
14. E Keating.
15. D Hyland.
16. C Gilsenan.
17. K Clarke.
18. K Brady.
19. F Flanagan.
20. J McEnroe.
21. R Flanagan.
22. D Barkley.
23. M McKeever.
24. RM Derham.
25. P Leddy.
26. G McKiernan.
27. M Argue.
28. D McKiernan.
29. C Mackey.
30. M Reilly.
31. M Dunne.
32. K Tierney.
33. J Brady.
34. P O'Connor.
35. T Mooney.
36. N Smith. ( I think came on against Fermanagh)

Can anyone think of anymore that featured in the league? Has there been anyone who was injured for the duration that would have played? Is there anymore on the extended panel that has not got a game like Mark Leddy for example?? Who else is on the panel does anyone know?

KeepTheFaith

willabur wrote: »

I was at the game last night, first game since the Longford and Offaly games in the Hastings Cup earlier on this year. First of all we were the better team on what was a god awful night. Our defence in particular was impressive after playing themselves into the game after a dodgy enough start. There were a couple of worrying points though

1: We are a team of half backs and corner backs. Work rate is phenomenal in the team, tackling, turning over the ball and looking for the man on the shoulder coming on to make the yards. The problem with such a well drilled team is that they do not play off the cuff when required. It was infuriating to see players lack the confidence to take on scores. Its a very conservative approach which has worked in ulster up until now but has left us wanting when we come up against the other provincial winners. Time and again, guys with forward numbers on their backs passed up shooting opportunities from pretty straight forward positions in the field

2: We saw the weak side of Michael Argue last night. I understand he has been one of the outstanding performers on the team to date and it was clear from the outset that he was targeted by the Monaghan players and he didn't seem to fancy it at all. He took a few tumbles at times and had a whinge at the linesman when he would have been better served using his clear physical advantage to dominate the opponent. The tactic employed against him is one driven purely out of fear of his ability, if I was his manager I would be getting into his head telling him this, fill the lad with belief to use his own facilities to win the duel rather than look for a hand from someone else. He is a young lad yet, but last night he had some opportunities to really make his mark on the game and passed them up. Also he needs to work on his defensive work, far too often he takes the lazy option of diving in which is easily sidestepped time and again creating a man over

3: Kickouts. The goalie possesses a lovely kick, he can hit it long and short but several times last night when hitting it long he took put the ball in some brainless parts of the pitch, Monaghan had dropped a man back so we had the spare man yet more often than not he put the ball in the area where there was an even match up rather than an uneven match up in our own favour.

4: Freekicks. We nearly kicked the game away last night, bar a jammy goal we could easily have lost the game given how much monaghan kicked wide early on. Last nights game was played in deplorable conditions and I think the sympathies of everyone in the crowd went out to the lads on the pitch putting in the hard yards. But given that the conditions were shocking it was worrying that the managers didn't take the decision to have the frees taken from the hand last night. I'm sure the lad boucher can slot them over all day on even a semi dry surface but last night was not the night to be taking frees off the ground. It was foolhardy and it struck me as sticking to a game plan which was too rigid to amen itself to the conditions, horses for courses etc. Last night it was clear from the first kick that planting your standing foot was next to impossible, as a free taker myself this is even more crucial than the strike itself because it dictates how clean a strike you can get on the ball. kicking from the hand you are not planting your foot with the same force so on a soft surface the chances of slipping are lessened. Correct me if I am wrong but we missed 6 free kicks from inside 30 metres last night. Good enough for monaghan but that won't wash later on in the competition


Thats what springs to mind, its the worrying points. There are alot of things to be positive about and making 5 finals in a row is serious achievement , lets hope this set of lads can now kick on, learn and grow.

Very interesting. I agree about the forward play, it's a huge deficiency in this side. We have a defence with some very good individual talent and a massive tenacity and work rate. But looking through our front 6 do we have one player that you could say is an outstanding full forward line player? Dillon can do a job, Bouchier probably operates better picking out passes from deep. Tom Hayes is the only player that fits the bill (I think he's an outstanding young player for his age and height) perhaps Madden but he looks to be out for the final. Donegal have the talent going forward to put up 13 points + on us. Will we have enough attacking power to best that? It remains to be seen.

I would imagine it is coming as a big culture shock to Argue to be targeted as he was on Wednesday night. But while he has a massive advantage in height he is not a big powerhouse of a midfielder. He's fairly light and pacy and eats up ground, he's not your hard hitting physical midfielder and I don't think we should expect him to be. I've noticed him diving into tackles as you've pointed out, did it a few times in the Hastings Cup final. But he's young and Wednesday night will have been a good experience for him.

Bouchier had a poor night on the frees and we cannot afford him having another one, Argue can kick a free from the left, I saw Liam Galligan take the frees the Hastings Cup and he could be a decent option, lovely strike of the ball.

It's hard to know how the Final will go, McBrearty will inevitably exert an influence on the game at some stage and presumably he will be picked up by either Moynagh, Clarke or Faulkner. Restricting him to 2-3 scores and I think we'll have a great chance. If Donegal score more than 12-13 points I think we're in trouble. Last year's Ulster Final was made to look more comfortable than it was after a few missed goal opportunities from Donegal and Ryan McHugh coming off very early due to injury.
That said we have the spine of a very strong side and Donegal won't get anything easy, but our forward play must improve.

Congratulations to the Seniors in achieving 7/7 today. Great win ratio so far this year, management handling the squad well and the players responding by giving them a selection headache. Really looking forward to the League Final, nothing much to lose and last year's two games in Croker will be a useful experience.

Lemlin

benjy1000 wrote: »

1. A O'Mara.
2. J Hayes.
3. R Dunne,
4. J McLoughlin,
5. P Tinnelly,
6. A Clarke,
7. D O'Reilly.
8. T Corr.
9. D Givney.
10. C Conroy.
11. N McDermott.
12. N Murray.
13. M Lyng.
14. E Keating.
15. D Hyland.
16. C Gilsenan.
17. K Clarke.
18. K Brady.
19. F Flanagan.
20. J McEnroe.
21. R Flanagan.
22. D Barkley.
23. M McKeever.
24. RM Derham.
25. P Leddy.
26. G McKiernan.
27. M Argue.
28. D McKiernan.
29. C Mackey.
30. M Reilly.
31. M Dunne.
32. K Tierney.
33. J Brady.
34. P O'Connor.
35. T Mooney.
36. N Smith. ( I think came on against Fermanagh)

Can anyone think of anymore that featured in the league? Has there been anyone who was injured for the duration that would have played? Is there anymore on the extended panel that has not got a game like Mark Leddy for example?? Who else is on the panel does anyone know?

Fair play to you for compiling that list. Brady was the only injury I could think of.

Dara McVitty would feature I'd imagine. Some of the other U21s who are in their last year like Joe Dillon or Moynagh may also.

Lemlin

Goalies:
1. A O'Mara.
16. C Gilsenan.

Backs:

2. J Hayes.
3. R Dunne,
4. J McLoughlin,
5. P Tinnelly,
6. A Clarke,
7. D O'Reilly.
17. K Clarke.
18. K Brady.
19. F Flanagan.
20. J McEnroe.
21. R Flanagan.
22. D Barkey.
23. M McKeever.
24. RM Derham.


Midfield:

8. T Corr.
9. D Givney.
25. P Leddy.
26. G McKiernan.
27. M Argue.
28. D McKiernan.

Forwards:

10. C Conroy.
11. N McDermott.
12. N Murray.
13. M Lyng.
14. E Keating.
15. D Hyland.
29. C Mackey.
30. M Reilly.
31. M Dunne.
32. K Tierney.
33. J Brady.
34. P O'Connor.
35. T Mooney.
36. N Smith.

I've sorted the players from the above into their respective positions and have bolded the definites IMO that Hyland will have in each position.

Goalkeeper - Gilsenan
Backs - Rory Dunne at full back, Killian Clarke at corner back, Alan Clarke at centre half back, Damien O'Reilly at wing half back. That leaves Jason McLoughlin, Joshua Hayes, Killian Brady, James McEnroe and Ronan Flanagan competing for the two remaining positions. One at corner back, one at wing half back.

Midfield - McKiernan is the only cert. You'd have to expect Corr, Givney and Argue to be in the front running to partner him. I don't expect Hyland to play Givney and McKiernan together so I reckon we may even see Damien O'Reilly or Killian Brady pushed into midfield to fill the more defensive midfield position.

Forwards - Keating, Mackey, Martin Reilly and Dunne are all certs for Hyland for me. I'd also expect Niall McDermott to take up position number 5. That leaves Lyng, Tierney and Jack Brady realistically competing for position number 6. I wouldn't be surprised to see David Givney or Michael Argue take it up though.

My own team for the league final would be (I'm assuming here that Clarke and Argue are not available hopefully!):

Gilsenan
Joshua Hayes, Rory Dunne, Killian Brady
James McEnroe, Alan Clarke, Fergal Flanagan
Gearoid McKiernan, Damien O'Reilly
Niall McDermott, Martin Reilly, Cian Mackey,
Eugene Keating, Martin Dunne, David Givney